Behavioral changes in response to trawl fishing: A case study on the Northeast Arctic cod
High fishing pressure on the Northeast Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) may have affected its behavior towards vessels. Present behavioral patterns can be estimated from echo sounder data. The dependence of average vertical swimming velocity on depth and vessel distance reveals a clear response pattern. A model is developed to examine how fishing affects the fitness of such response patterns. Investigating the effects of heritabilities, ancestral patterns, and fishery intensities is expected to provide insight into how fishing may have altered the behavior of cod.